Kathmandu, June 1:

Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd along with Nepal Professional Golfers Association jointly launched the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2008 in April. The objective of the tour is to develop professional golfing, provide opportunity for local talents and to promote golfing tourism in this country.

The Surya Nepal Golf Tour will host several professional events including the Surya Nepal Masters. The tournament will feature the best pros and amateurs from Nepal and the SAARC region.

The Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2008 teed on May 13 with Surya Nepal Central Open. The event saw Nepal’s most promising pros competing neck to neck. Aspiring pro Shiva Ram Shrestha outgunned Surya Nepal Masters 2007 champion Deepak Thapa Magar to walk away with the cash prize of Rs 70,000. In the amateur category Tashi Ghale won the title.

The second event was the Golfer Pilots NPGA Classic from May 25-27, which was participated in by 20 pros and nine amateurs. Shiva Ram claimed the back-to-back victory edging veteran pro Deepak Thapa Magar to win a cash prize of Rs 100,000. Rupak Acharya won the amateur section title.

The third and the most reputed one, Surya Nepal Masters 2008, is slated for June 3-7 at the par-72 Le Meridien Gokarna Golf Resort and Spa. Renowned pros from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India will be vying for the title and a cash prize of Rs 20 lakh. The Masters will begin with Standard Chartered Pro-Am on June 3.

Samsung Match Play will be the next event on the list of events under the tour this year. The event offers total prize money of NPR 300,000. Surya Nepal Western Open and Surya Nepal Eastern Open are the other two important tournaments to look out for. The Surya Nepal Golf Tour will culminate with the NPGA Surya Nepal Tour Championship with a prize purse of Rs 300,000.